The Morning After
by justanotherfangirl41319
Summary: Everyone has a theory about what's going to happen in the beginning of Season 5 with Castle and Beckett, I personally hope it's as lovey-dovey as they can make it before the drama hits full force. I'm a sucker for Caskett fluff and that's exactly what this is. More chapters to come. Reviews and comments are appreciated. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Good Morning

Kate woke up wrapped in Rick's arms. She smiled contently to herself and snuggled closer to him. As if he already developed a sixth sense for her or having just felt her move, Rick woke up moments after her. He pulled her closer and leaned down to nibble on her neck. She made a noise somewhere between a sigh and 'mmmmm', she then manuvered to look up at him causing him to move his mouth to her collar bone before looking at her. He smiled down at her and brushed a few stray hairs out off of her face, tracing her jaw line. He marveled at how beautiful she looked, laying naked and looking satisfied. She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb.

"Good morning." Rick said gruffly.

"Morning." She replied softly.

They smiled sweetly at one another. Emotion flashed quick across Rick's face as he looked away, he looked down at her again with concern.

"So.. you." He began, he cleared his throat before continuing tentatively. "You don't regret wh-"

Kate stopped him mid-sentece with a kiss, pulling his mouth to hers effectively shutting him up. She felt like kissing him was something she had been waiting to do all her life, it just felt so right, as if her lips were made to kiss his lips. He reveled in the way her lips formed to his, the way her tongue flicked out tracing his lower lip and eventually slipped in his mouth battling for dominance. They rolled over so she was on top of him and broke off the heated kiss. She smiled down at him licking her lips.

"No matter what happens from this point on, Rick, I will never regret last night." She smiled serenely at him, brushing a strand of his messy hair out of his face. She thought it a little funny that she never realized how long his hair had gotten. He watched several emotions move across her face and through her eyes. He noticed she had start to look a little green and he watched in concern but waited for her to speak, recognizing that she was getting herself ready to say something big.

She took a deep breath and centered herself through the feeling of his hands resting on her bare hips. She managed to look unflinching into his eyes and say the words she had been to scared to say, fearing they would change everything. _It was a little late for that_, she thought as she said, "I love you, Castle."

She smiled down at him a little hesitantly, he could tell she was still getting used to facing the idea but she had said it, finally, and she even looked happy.

"I love you too." He replied, loving the way it sounded on his lips she almost asked him to say it again.

Rick leaned up and kissed her again, deep and hard, he rolled on top of her and pressed his body close to hers. She could feel him pressing hard against her inner thighs. She deepened the kiss causing him to buck his hips and moan into her mouth. He finally managed to pull away from her gasping for air. He gazed down at her with a huge grin plastered on his face, he shifted his weight to brush his fingers along her jawline causing her to smile up and him. She captured his hand in hers and pressed it to her mouth placing light kisses upon his palm. She released his hand and just as he leaned down to continue his assault on her lips, as if on que, the phone rang. Rick groaned and breifly laid his head down on her bare shoulder. He raised his head to look at Kate.

"I'll get it." Rick grudgingly said as he got up giving Kate one final kiss on the nose. She watched as he scrambled out of bed and dashed naked across the room to get the phone. He picked it up just in time, though he didn't have time to look at the caller ID.

"Hello, Richard Castle speaking." He answered in a sing-song voice.

Kate watched as the person on the other line talked to Rick, his face went from blissfully happy to serious and grave in a matter of seconds. Kate got out of bed, stretched, and grabbed one of his button up shirts to wear over her panties. Kate groaned when her body protested againts her sudden movements, she hadn't felt the extent of her injuries last night, the pain had probably been held off by the adrenaline coursing through her body as a result of her much overdue decision. She certainly felt them now. She was sore all over, she felt like she actually fell off of that roof hitting everything possible on the way down. Her other activities last night deffinitely didn't help, but she didn't regret it at all. As she finished buttoning up the last couple buttons Rick hung up the phone. Kate walked over to him wrapping her arms around his waist pulling him close to her.

"What's wrong, Castle? Who was that?"

"Gates." Rick replied, tight lipped.

Kate was not expecting that and she slowly let him go so he could turn around to look at her.

"Wh-What did she want?" She asked, her voice just barely kept in check.

"She said there was something you had to tell me, she didn't think she was the one that should tell me..?"

He let his response hang in the air, ending with a question. She could tell he was scared and he'd probably question what happened between them once he found out. She couldn't lose him now, she had to make him see that her resignation had nothing to do with her coming to his house last night. She sighed, looking around the room trying to find the right words to say.

"She's right. A lot happened yesterday."

She was struggling with how to bring it up, how to soften it somehow.

"You can tell me, Kate."

She looked up at him and flashed a smile, he gave her the courage to continue.

"How about we get some coffee and sit down for this." It wasn't a question but he nodded. He sighed and walked into the kitchen after grabbing a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from his dresser drawer. After fixing up some coffee they sat down in the living room to talk.

"Okay, shoot." He said taking a sip of his steaming coffee. Kate took a deep breath and looked directly into Rick's eyes as she let it out and then began to explain everything that happened the day before.

"I resigned yesterday after Kevin saved my life. He told Gates about what we had been doing and sent in backup. If not for him I would have died."

Rick had not expected that, he sat quiet for a moment staring wide eyed at Kate before managing to muster up any kind of response.

"How did you almost die?"

He managed to say in a whisper, he had wanted to know last night but he never got the opportunity to bring it up. Kate knew he needed to know the truth, no matter how much it may hurt him. She took a sip of her coffee before answering.

"I chased the guy who shot me, we fought on the roof, well he batted me around more than anything; you saw all the bruises on my body." She raised an eyebrow at him tentatively. If possible, his eyes widened further before settling into something akin to white hit rage. He growled out his response, making sure she knew he wasn't angry with her but with the monster that hurt her.

"He did that to you?"

Rick looked so angry Kate could only think to put a hand on his knee to calm him down and let him know she was okay. She gave him a small smile and spoke.

"I'm fine now, Rick. I'm okay."

Rick nodded closing his eyes briefly before looking up at her, he nodded letting her know it was okay for her to continue. She watched him for a minute to make sure he was really alright, knowing the next part was going to be difficult for both of them.

"I ended up hanging from the edge of the roof." She said quietly, almost a whisper.

Rick involuntarily made a strangled noise, but managed to squeek out a question. "You were hanging from the roof?"

"Hey, I'm okay Castle. I didn't fall, Kevin got to me in time, I'm right here and I'm okay." She said, trying to reassure him.

She reached out and grabbed his hand in hers and he gripped it tight. After a few minutes his breathing returned to an almost normal pace and she could feel his pulse in his wrist slow down slightly, and he nodded to let her continue. Kate was still worried that he might not ever get over this. They'd been in these situations before but this was the first one where he wasn't with her, she knew just that fact hurt him - that he wasn't there for her when she needed him. She looked into his eyes as she continued.

"I called for help and the craziest thing happened to me. I, I thought I heard you calling back to me... but it was, um it was Kevin.

He grabbed my wrist just as I lost my grip and pulled me up."

He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Kate couldn't tell what he was thinking and she squeezed his hand nervously. This caused him to open his eyes and squeeze back but she barely noticed his hand because his smile... it was so full of love, endless love and she felt her heart constrict. In that moment she knew, without a doubt, that he was it - he was her 'one and done'. She smiled back at him, trying to convey her love for him in it.

"Is that when you...?" He asked her, almost awestruck.

Kate knew exactly what he meant, and she nodded. She didn't even try to hide the small smile playing coyly at her lips.

"Yeah, hanging there I realized I didn't want to die and not tell you how I felt. I tried to tell you several times before but it seemed like something or someone kept getting in the way. I just knew that I wanted you, that everything else I could figure out later."

"We." Rick said, correcting her.

Rick said with a sincere look on his face. She scrunched her eyebrow briefly before the understood and smiled at him. She decided to leave it alone and continue with her story.

"When Javi and I got back to the precinct Gates chewed us out and suspended us both for two weeks without pay."

She looked down at their joined hands, he gave her hand a slight squeez but she only managed to look up to his chest.

She couldn't meet his eyes and say this because every time she did it felt more real, and she felt like Gates was right. Kate began slowly, "She told us that we disrespected the badge and something in me snapped. I resigned."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Rick looked up at her, she looked back at him with a look that asked for his understanding.

"Do you want your job back?" He asked tentatively.

She sighed heavily before answering him.

"I, I think I do. I probably made the biggest mistake of my life yesterday, by resigning."

They both contemplated her answer for a little while.

"Here's a question: what would you do if you weren't a cop?" Rick asked.

Kate sighed, she never really gave it much thought, ever since her mom- being a cop is the only thing that made sense to her. She sucked in a quick breath before responding, "For so long I have had nothing meaningful in my life but my career, this case, finding out what happened to my mom. I realized there are more important things, like finding someone who.."

"Will stand with you in the end." Rick said finishing her sentence. They smiled at each other.

"Yeah, I was going to say someone you love but that works too. Right now, Rick, you matter to me. We're just going to have to figure out the rest..."

"Together. I only ever kept things from you because I care, Kate. I never wanted to hurt you." Rick cut in, finishing her sentence once again.

She smiled reassuringly at him before saying, "I know, and I'm grateful that you went to the lengths you did but you should have told me the moment this person contacted you. You should have kept me in the loop."

"He told me that if I told you I'd be putting your life in more danger. That you would get hurt. I couldn't take that chance, Kate. I couldn't."

She put her hand on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze, she smiled up at him.

"I know that now."

"I won't let anything happen to you." He vowed.

"I know." She replied contently. "I won't let anything happen to you either, Castle."

They sat in silence a minute when Kate perked up, almost with alarm.

"Castle, when are your mother and Alexis coming home?"

"Oh not for a while. Mother will be spending about 3 days up at the house in the Hamptons and Alexis will probably spend the day with her friends, I'm not expecting a phone call until at least noon." Rick said, a rather 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone clearly evident.

Kate sighed, relieved. "Okay, good. I did not want to accidentally bump into them or have to sneak out if they came home early or something."

Rick replied sincerely, "They wouldn't be mad about this. They know how I feel about you. They'd be happy for us. They hide it, mainly because of my conflicting feelings for you for so long, but they care for you Kate. I can see it. They may be hesitant at first to learn about us, but only because they don't want either of us to get hurt. But I love you Kate, and I will fight for you."

Kate put her coffee down, then took Rick's and put it on the table as well, she scooted closer to him.

"You already have me, Castle. And I'm not going anywhere."

She leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on his lips, he growled and pulled her closer. She slid onto his lap and the kiss deepened. Rick placed his hands on her hips, applying pressure to keep her close. Kate, in response, ground her hips into his making him moan loudly into her mouth. She smiled against his lips, pulling away to trail kisses down his neck and nibble his sensitive skin. He ground his hips up into hers causing her to groan feeling his hard member press against her entrance through their thin clothes. Rick pulled Kates attention away from his neck and placed her face in his hands. He looked up at her with a lazy smile.

"How about some breakfast and then we head into the precinct to talk with Gates." He said happily.

"Castle, you don't have to come with me." She said gently.

"_Kate_, I do. Even for just moral support." He retorted.

He dropped his hands from her face and rested them on her waist. She studied his face for a minute before saying anything.

"Thank you." She replied sincerely.

"Well, well Kate Beckett. I never knew you had it in you. And plus my motives aren't so pure." He stated with a mischievous grin.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow at the tone in his voice and the smile on his lips.

"I'm planning on bragging that I get to sleep with the sexiest detective anyone has ever laid eyes on." Rick stated with a huge grin.

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile at him before she shook her head and climbed off of his lap heading into the kitchen. Over the next half hour she watched him cook. He refused to let her help. Not even with the toast.

"So how do we tell people? About us, I mean?" Kate asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't want to keep it a secret... but if you do?"

He looked up at her, pausing his strawberry chopping, with an nervous, questioning edge to his eyes.

Kate looked at him with unguarded eyes and replied. "No, I'm not ashamed of you, Rick."

He lot out a breath that he wasn't even aware he was holding.

Rick quickly jumped at her response, just in case she decided to pull back and keep it a secret. "Well then, I was planning on letting Mother and Alexis know when they come home, if that's alright with you. As for Esposito, Lanie, and Ryan... I think we should tell them together. Unless you wanted to tell Lanie on your own, I know she's your best friend. You know besides me and all."

"Oh, you think so highly of yourself." Kate retorted with amusement..

He winked at her.

"So, I was thinking we should go out on a real date. Considering we've already slept together and are now having breakfast together. How do you feel about dinner, this week? You pick." Rick asked casually.

Kate smiled and replied, "That sounds great. How about we see how things go at the precinct and then we'll go from there?"

"As you wish."

He set down a delectable stack of pancakes in front of her with a side of toast and a few strawberries. He refreshed her coffee and set his own plate up next to her.


	2. Back In The Saddle

_A/N: Okay, so you guys have been super patient. I'm sorry it's take me so long to update but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with all of this. I decided to skip a head a few weeks and just dive into the fluff, I'm thinking in the next couple chapters I'm going to ramp this up a little more: more Caskett fluff and hopefully dip into the conspiracy surrounding Beckett's Mom's murder, her shooting, etc. Basically I'm going to attempt a story line, bare with me._

* * *

Beckett re-obtained her job at the 12th precinct after several lengthy meetings with Gates, who had thankfully held off on filing the paper work for Kate's resignation. Her psychiatrist even showed up at one meeting to verify that Kate was in fact mentally stable and to state that when she quit she was just overwhelmed with emotions from both her mother's case and a sudden epiphany that she had just before Ryan pulled her from her imminent death. Gates, however, was not privy to the information pertaining to the epiphany. Though after some observation of Backett after she returned, with her loyal writer in tow, everyone in the One-Two was able to guess what the epiphany was about: Castle.

They'd been back at work for a week and so far no one knew, no one knew they had been dating for nearly three weeks now. They were lapsing back into their steady routine, with only a few changes, namely how they started and ended their days... in bed, together. They had decided to keep their relationship a secret after their first meeting with Gates, she had made an off-hand comment that they needed to be careful where they tread and to play by the book because they were on thin ice, a probation of sorts, upon their return to the precinct. Gates hadn't meant it too seriously but Rick and Kate both became concerned their relationship would be enough to allow Gates to push them out once and for all. Eventually they agreed they wouldn't tell people but when and if someone found out they'd deal with it, so far this hadn't happened.

So they kept it a secret, only three people knew: Alexis, Martha, and Jim. Alexis was tentative but she was slowly coming to terms, slowly allowing their relationship to become real and a part of her life. Martha was over joyed, she nearly squeezed the life out of Kate when she awkwardly walked in the loft to find one very disheveled detective possitioned snuggly under neath her son on the couch locked in a very passionate kiss. That hug however also caused Beckett some serious pain, and she cried out as Martha let her go. Martha had insisted on Kate telling her what happened, Kate eventually ended up telling both Martha and Alexis what happened to her, not just that day but what she's gone through in her last year since the shooting. She knew opening up to these two women had caused them to soften up to her, it allowed them to become closer.

Rick had dreaded telling her dad, Kate on the other hand knew that her dad loved him and would be estatic to find out about their relationship. Just as Kate predicted, her dad was happy beyond measure. What she hadn't anticipated was the reason why he was so happy they got their act together, he had pulled her aside that day and said,_ 'I am so pround of you Katie, I'm so pround that you let go. You're mom would be so proud of you for following you heart and for not letting the love of you life get away because of what happened to her. She knows you love her, but hon it's time to lay this all to rest. You have a real future ahead of you with this one, make it count Katie.'_ Kate was speechless, all she could do was pull him into a hug and tell him she loved him.

Things have been good for them; even with the few bumps in the road and a couple arguments here and there, overall they were good.

* * *

Kate was sitting at her desk trying to position her hair to hide the hickey Rick left on her neck. She had warned him not to, that someone would notice, but in the heat of the moment when all your inhabitions get thrown out of the window she forgot why she even cared. She smiled as she thought of their night together and exactly how she got that hickey, she shivered at the thought. He had a few himself but she had been a little more careful so as to not make it so obvious that they gave them to each other. She was still smiling when someone set down a steaming coffee cup in front of her.

She looked up at him and it was as if her memories came to life and she could suddenly feel his burning touch on her skin, his velvet lips pressed against hers, his tongue as it glided over hers searching for dominance in her mouth, the heat from his voice as he whispered into her ear, the shudder of his body as he released inside of her, she felt the way their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly , seamlessly. She blushed and looked briefly at the coffee trying to hide the blush that rose on her cheeks, then back up to him with barely concealed desire in her eyes.

"Morning." He said with a knowing smile and a devilish glint in his eyes. She replied with an equally knowing smile allowing her desire to shine through by a fraction.

"Morning." She replied.

They looked at eachother for a moment, reliving their heated night together silently in their heads before she added: "Thanks for the coffee."

"Any time." The innuendo was not lost on him as he replied quickly, letting the meaning of his words sink in. Kate completely forgot about hiding her hickey as she looked up at Castle with a lusty grin and was startled when Lanie, who was just walking by her desk, stopped and demanded information. Although Lanie hadn't seen the looks they shared, or was distracted enough to not see the depth of the emotions exchanged in their gazes, she was still aware enought to notice the obvious hickey on the pulse point of Beckett's neck.

"Ohhh, girl, spill it." Lanie said loud enough for only Rick and Kate to hear.

Kate and Rick both looked at her quizzically.

"What are you talking about, Lanie?" Kate asked confused.

"Who've you been smoochin' with?" The ME pressed.

Kate still gave her an innocent and slightly confused look. Which faltered just enough for Lanie to smile triumphantly, she exchanged her look of triumph for a look that would give any self respecting detective a run for their money. Kate risked a glance up at Rick who was trying not to laugh by pressing his fingers against his mouth, obviously happy to not be in Kate's possition but loving the way it made her squirm.

"What's so funny, Castle?" She asked him with a slightly accusing tone.

"Nothing, nothing. But I agree, I think we'd all love to know where that hickey came from." He was pushing her, challenging her to tell Lanie the truth.

Kate looked from Lanie to Rick.

"What if I told you it wasn't a hickey."

"Kate, I know a hickey when I see one. Now spill."

Kate sighed and glanced up at Rick again. Lanie followed this and froze, understanding washed over her face.

"Oh my god. You two finally..."

"Okay, okay. Keep it down." Kate said quickly, trying to keep her friend from screaming it for the world to hear.

"She's afraid if Gates finds out that it would just give her another reason to kick me if not both of us out of here." Rick cut in.

"Hey, I thought _we_ agreed not to tell anyone. We, Rick. Not just me." Kate interjected.

Lanie was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She leaned in close so no one else could hear her and began her verbal assault. "Oh, I need the whole story. I'm pretty sure I've been waiting for this to happen just about as long as both of you have, if not longer. So... details?"

"Not here, Lanie. I'll call you tonight." Kate said with a one-sided smile.

"We have plans tonight." Castle said smoothly.

Kate hit her forehead and turned to look at her partner.

"Right, dinner. Um, we don't have lunch plans, right?" She asked Castle. He still looked as though he was trying not to laugh.

"Nope. Just dinner reservations, at your favorite resturant I might add."

Kate beamed at him, then turned to Lanie.

"You free for lunch?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"For this, definately. You two are adorable already. Alright, I got to go. Big accident, lots of poor souls were lost. So I'll catch you later, at lunch."

Lanie leaned down and brought Kate into a big hug, she pulled back with smile as Kate replied.

"See you then."

Rick and Kate watched her leave. Rick sat down in the chair next to her desk and they sat and talked for a little while, at least until Esposito and Ryan showed up. Neither of them realized the other two cops were in the vacinity or they would have toned down the flirting. As it were, they were in total honeymoon phase of their relationship and Ryan and Epso could sense there was something different between them. Ryan leaned across his desk, closer to Espo, unaware that Rick and Kate could hear them.

"What's up with mom and dad?" Ryan asked eyeing the couple.

"I don't know, maybe they finally hooked-up." Espo said jokingly.

They snickered at the shock on the couple's face who had heard their short exchange, they quickly covered up their shock with looks of bemusement.

"No, really, what's up with you guys?" Ryan asked seriously, shaking off Javi's comment as the joke it was meant as. Whatever Kate was about to say was cut off by Lanie's voice calling over the din of the precinct to get Kate's attention.

"Duty calls. I'll see you guys after lunch." Kate said quickly. She started to turn away, grabbing her coat when she looked back at Castle and raised and eyebrow biting back a smile, pulling her lower lip in between her teeth.

"You gonna be okay on your own?" Kate said in a teasing tone.

Rick scoffed, looking offended and then allowed his features to soften.

"Please, Kate. I'm not an invalid."

Kate mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like_ 'you cetainly proved that last night'_, only Rick had heard her and a huge grin spread across his face and he chocked back a laugh.

"What was that, Detective?" He asked, provoking her again.

She blushed and shook her head calling back behind her, "Just keep out of trouble, Castle, I'll be back in an hour."

Rick watched her walk to the elevator already deeply emersed in conversation with Lanie. Espo walked up beside him, studying his features.

"So you gonna tell us what's going on, bro?"

Espo was standing with his arms across his chest and an eyebrow raised, obviously expecting Castle to cave with Beckett not around. He shook his head taking his usual seat next to Beckett's desk.

"Come on, Castle, don't leave us out in the dark." It was Ryan's turn to lay in on him. Both relying on tacticts that have worked before. They both came and hovered over him by Beckett's desk, trying to intimidate it out of him. Unfortunately for them it didn't work, Rick smiled and mimed sealing his lips and throwing away the key. The boys let out identical huffs of frustration and went to their own desks leaving castle by himself. He smirked_ the silent treatment, how original._

* * *

Finally able to take a break from Lanie's verbal inquisition, Kate settled back into her chair taking a deep sip of her coffee as she studied her surroundings.

A couple in the corner were sipping latte's and holding hands as they kept up a comfortable chatter. A mother with two kids was waiting for her coffee by the counter, trying to quite one of her crying children. An old man was sitting by himself looking out the window with a scowl on his face, she couldn't help but wonder what was troubling him. She sighed and looked back at Lanie, noticing with a start that her friend had been watching her intently.

"What, Lanie?" Kate said a little warily.

Lanie smiled and shook her head. "You look happy, really happy. I am so proud of you, girl. Finally, finally you let that man in. And I mean that in every way." Lanie rose her eyebrows suggestively, causing Kate to blush.

"Lanie." Kate said in protest with a laugh.

"What, are you going to deny how that hickey came to be?" She asked incredulously.

Kate finally broke and with smile she said, "Of course we've... slept together."

Lanie let out a squeal of delight and demanded details. Kate sighed and eyed her friend.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure how Rick would feel about-" Kate started and Lanie interupted, "You giving me the play-by-play. Or should I say blow-by-blow." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and Kate groaned lowering her head to the table to hide her face.

"You had to put it like that, didn't you." She said, not a question but a statement. She glanced down at her watch and jumped up almost comically.

"We should get back." Lanie stood up eyeing her friend.

"This isn't over, Kate."

"Oh, I know, I'm far from safe from your verbal assault. You probably have a thousand more questions for me. And eventually you'll get your chance to ask them." The detective said with a smile, she picked up her coffee and they headed out the door and up the street back to the precinct with her best friend in tow.

* * *

Kate couldn't help but smile at her partner who was asleep in his chair by her desk. She loved watching him sleep, he always looked so at peace. She walked up to her desk, careful to stay quiet and not wake him as she took her jacket off and sat down to do some paperwork. All the while sneaking glances at him every minute or so.

"You're gonna blow our cover." Castle said sleepily as he squinted one eye open to peer at his girlfriend who was smiling at him.

Kate winked at him and continued her paperwork.

* * *

A/N: You guys like? Any thoughts or comments? Reviews welcome. Hope you enjoyed, Chapter three coming soon.


	3. A Shower and an Inquisition

She basks in the warmth of the water beating on her face. She has her eyes closed and face pointed up into the spray. She hears a soft click followed by a swift gust of cold air, it was followed by another soft click and she felt the temperature begin to grow warmer again. She had a small smile playing on her lips.

He murmured, "Good Morning," as he wrapped his arms around her stomach pulling her close to his body. She settled back into him, feeling what has become so familiar and comfortable to her. She smiled saying, "Good Morning," as he leaned down and trailed kisses along her shoulder up her neck, making her moan. He held off until the last possible moment to kiss her lips, trailing achingly slow up her neck and along her jaw.

When their lips met she turned to him and could feel him shudder under her delicate hands as they traced the panes of his body and held him close. She smiled briefly, she loved that she could still get under his skin. Her mouth opened under the kiss, he didn't need much incentive to reciprocate. The kiss deepened and he pushes her swiftly back against the wall letting his hands trail slowly down her body before rounding her hips and bum to take a hold of her thighs pulling them up one by one around his hips. She broke off the kiss allowing him to kiss her neck and allowing her to gasp in a few breaths of air. She could feel him pressing hard against her; he was ready and so was she, but she wanted this to last as long as possible because they had a long day ahead of them at work and they wouldn't get much time alone.

She began to kiss his neck, eventually developing a few hickey's along the way. She could feel several forming on her skin as well but she couldn't have cared. He backed his chest away putting more pressure with his hips to keep her in place against the wall. He looked at her, taking her in. She smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back. She had one hand on his shoulder, the other resting on his chest.

She cocked her head to the side.

"What's the matter, Rick?" She asked.

He rose his eyebrows and replied, "Nothing, it's just... You are so beautiful. I-" He chuckled, not taking his eyes off of her, "I still can't believe that-" She cut him off, "That I'm yours. That we're together." She didn't ask them as a question, she simply stated. He nodded.

"I love you too, Rick." She said with a slight smile.

He smiled and laughed gently, she looked at him curiously. "You always say that. 'I love you too'. But I never said it first, don't get me wrong, Kate. I do love you. So much. But... I don't say it first when you say 'I love you too'." She smiled and replied, "It's implied. In everything you say and do. It's implied that you love me and when I look into your eyes I can see it, I can feel it. And it's wonderful. _So._ I love you too, Rick."

He smiled leaning forward, closing the space, he kissed her long and deep. They both let out ragged, husky moans in between the deep languid kisses. She reached down, grabbing his throbbing erection, guiding him to her. As he entered her she let out a cry, he paused allowing her time to re-adjust to his size. Soon she was whimpering for him to move, to cause friction where she needed it. He began to move slowly in and out, rocking into her with his weight. She picked up his rhythm quickly, matching his every thrust. He ran his hands up her slippery, wet body causing her to arch closer to him and allowing him more access to her.

He held her close kissing her feverishly as his thrusting grew slower, drawing out of her nearly to the tip and then slowly back in to the hilt. She gasped out, "Castle... ohhh... Rick." He knew she was close and to help her along, he moved his fingers, trailing down her stomach, to her clit. He pressed hard moving with a quick motion causing her to cry out and climax, she began to feel her orgasm rock through her body. She knew he had to be close; he was shaky and unsteady, ready to release. Running on the high from her own release she began to rock against him harder and harder until she felt him reach his climax, he cried out her name as he stayed connected for a few moments, leaning against each other and breathing heavy. The water had run cold, but neither of them seemed to notice.

He backed up from the wall pulling out of her. He had his hands resting on her waist, he moved one up along her side to her face and cupped her cheek. He kissed her, a swift brush of the lips before pulling her close. She stepped into his embrace resting her head on his chest, she listened to his steady heart beat. She sighed and looked up at him.

"So much for my shower." She mumbled into his chest and after a few more minutes she spoke again. "We're going to be late if we don't get out of here."

"Well, it's a good thing you finally let me leave some clothes over here." He replied, tapping her on the nose.

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him shutting off the water. He opened the door to the shower and stepped out grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. He grabbed another handing it back to her.

"Thanks." She said, wrapping her towel around her body.

He smiled and leaned down, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "You're welcome. I'm going to make some coffee." He said.

They both exited the bathroom into the bedroom. He went ahead into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee and she stayed behind to get dressed when there was a knock at the door. She didn't hear it but he did and without thinking he answered the door of her apartment, in just a towel.

* * *

When he opened the door and it was just his luck that it was the boys followed closely by Lanie. She heard the front door open and peaked her head out to see what he was doing and she was shocked. As if they could sense her there they looked up and saw her as she stepped out of her bedroom sporting just a towel. The group was completely shocked at first, which was quickly followed by huge grins and shaking heads.

"We were bound to catch you guys, you were always so careful." Espo said.

"You thought you could hide it from us. The shame." Ryan followed.

Kate sighed and walked up next to Rick.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag, Hon." Rick said as Kate joined him. She shot daggers up at him with her eyes.

"Rick." She said, a warning evident in her voice. He held up his hands in defense, "I know, I know. No pet names, I'm sorry."

"Aren't you two just adorable. So just getting out of the shower?" Espo began.

"Beckett, I didn't know you had multiple bathrooms." Ryan continued.

"Wait no, you don't. So- yes, that means you both just took a shower.. together." Espo concluded.

Their voices oozing with mock surprise and heavy sarcasm. Rick and Kate both tried to hide smiles, they always thought it was amusing when the boys finished each other's thoughts -much like they did.

She took a deep breath and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh no, girl, we get to ask the questions now." Lanie interjected, effectively cutting off what ever Ryan was about to say. Kate gave her a disbelieving look, Lanie was going to play dumb and act like she didn't know.

Rick looked between Lanie and Kate, obviously confused and said, "How about you guys come in, sit down, let us get dressed, and we can maybe explain some things." He looked at Kate for conformation that it was a good idea, she didn't look too happy but she nodded.

Kate and Rick headed back to her bedroom and quickly got dressed. Kate only had time to dry her hair a little bit before they headed back into the living room so her hair was it's natural curly mop. As they walked into the combined living room and kitchen Rick looked over at her and smiled, he caught a lock of her hair in his fingers. "I like your hair like that." He said innocently with a light smile playing on his lips, he let his hand drop. "Why don't you wear it like that more often?" She gave him a calculating look and, deeming his question innocent enough, thought over her answer before looking away and glancing at the three people in her living room. "Because it gets in the way. It's all over the place." She said, looking back at him.

He nodded and turned to face the group. "Uh. Would anyone like some coffee? I was in the middle of making it when you knocked?" They consented and he turned to look at Kate who nodded and said, "Yes, please." He smiled and before she knew what he was going to do he reached over placing one hand on the opposite side of her head, he pulled her a few inches closer to himself and placed a quick kiss on her head. She didn't pull away and she watched him walk into the kitchen. She noticed his jeans were riding a little low, and she scrunched up her brow trying to remember ever seeing him in just jeans in a t-shirt or at least something that wasn't designer label, she must have -all the time they've been spending together..

Someone cleared their throat, snapping her out of her daydream, and she looked over at the others quickly. They had knowing smiles on their face and she realized a beat too late that she not only had been watching him walk away but she had a huge goofy grin on her face as she had thought about him in his clothes, or more accurately him without his clothes.

"So, you and Castle." Espo said. It wasn't a question but she nodded a little tentatively at first and then finding her courage she replied, "Yeah, we've been seeing each other for a while now." He raised his eyebrows, "Already taking showers together." Again, not a question. She sighed but was saved when Rick walked back in the living area and answered for her, "No comment, next question." He said as he walked back over to Kate's side, standing close. They all gave him weird looks. "I've been questioned a lot by all kinds of pushy reporters, a couple of curious detectives and an ME are not that intimidating."

"Rick, this isn't-" Kate started but was interrupted by Ryan. "We could interrogate it out of you. You know, if you don't cooperate." Rick rolled his eyes and replied, "No offence guys, but the only detective I'd be scared enough of to actually say anything to is the beautiful woman standing to my immediate right."

"Alright, alright. We're going at this all wrong." Lanie began, "Just, tell us... When did you two finally come to your senses?"

"I already told you that." Kate said before Castle could begin his story. All three men snapped their heads from Lanie to Kate. Rick had known that Lanie knew, obviously since she had seen the hickey, but he was willing to play along and let Lanie off the hook. Kate had other plans.

Before the boys could start in on her Lanie replied, "Alright, yes I knew. But only for the last few days, and it wasn't my place to say anything. Now for those of us who haven't heard the story, please continue." The boys eyed her, they wanted to say something to Lanie but they decided to listen to the much anticipated story of how Kate came to her senses and started dating Rick.

* * *

Rick and Kate both settled down on a couple of chairs across from their friends. They shared a look and silently agreed to tell them the whole truth.

"Well, I can honestly say that I've known how I've felt for a long time. I've fallen in love with Kate over these past four years, more and more everyday." Rick said.

"Okay, when did she figure out you're head over heels for her?" Lanie pressed taking the role as interrogator since she knew where to twist and turn the story to get to the good parts. Her eyes burned into Castle, making him rethink his earlier statement about not being intimidated.

"When I got shot." Kate said quietly, had it not been dead quite in the room they may not have heard her.

The boys weren't expecting that. She looked up at Rick with a small smile. "I lied when I said I didn't remember what happened when I got shot. I just couldn't face it, I wasn't ready to be in a real relationship and I didn't want to mess up my one chance with him. It wouldn't have been fair, I wasn't in the right- There were things in the way, things I had to do before..." She sighed and looked up at them and then her eyes rested on Rick who nodded and smiled.

He reached over and squeezed her hand before getting up and going into the kitchen to retrieve the coffee. Kate followed his movements, using him as an anchor point, she turned back to her friends as she finished her story. "That day, hanging from the roof I realized I couldn't keep putting it off. If I had to, I'd give up everything just to be with him because he is what matters in my life. He was all I could think about." She said, smiling slightly at Rick who was returning from the kitchen with everyone's coffee.

"That was when she faced her love for me. And then she came to my place that night after Alexis graduation and attacked me, molested me really." Rick stated.

"Oh, really. I _molested_ you?" Kate retorted, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well I opened the door and after _six_ words you jumped at me and kissed me." He said with a wink and a smile, letting her know that's not actually how he saw it.

"And I suppose I just threw myself against the front door?" She asked coyly, letting a small smile settle on her lips.

"Oh no, that was all me." Rick said with a huge grin before taking a sip of his coffee.

The couple turned to their friends and couldn't help but laugh. They were all frozen with their coffee mugs half way to their mouths and their jaws dropped. Finally Ryan unthawed.

"Did that really happen?" Ryan asked setting his coffee down.

"Not exactly like that. It was much more romantic and heartfelt. We left out those bits because they're private." Rick said.

"And the throwing against the door wasn't private?" Espo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Look guys, I know you want details and maybe along the line you'll get them but we're still early in our relationship and we'd appreciate it if you guys would-" Kate began but was cut off by Rick, "Butt out. Is what she's trying to say nicely. Come on. Like Kate said, eventually the details will come out but couldn't you guys just be happy for us and wait."

The group looked at the couple, not entirely willing to give in but knowing it's not their place. Finally after a few exchanged looks they nodded.

"Alright, we won't press for now." Espo said.

"Good, because we're all late for work." Kate said picking up her coffee and walking to the kitchen. Rick followed and placed the other mugs in the sink.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. She looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, Rick, I'm alright. I didn't exactly want them to find out like this but now they know." He watched her closely and nodded. He took a step closer to her and put his arm around her waist pulling her close and holding a quick kiss to her forehead before moving on past her out of the kitchen, her fingers trailed out of his hand as he walked away. The whole encounter lasted only but a few seconds but it was enough.

They returned to the living room and neither could tell that their friends had seen their exchange and were jubilant to see how happy they were together. Before Kate could make up an excuse for them to not wait Espo said, "We'll see you at work, we'll cover if Gates asks. But only this time." She smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Javi."

The boys and Lanie got up and made their way to the door. "Oh, I almost forgot. Why did you guy come here in the first place. I mean it's a little strange, all of you show up and before work..?" She asked with a quizzical expression. Ryan gave her a tight lipped smile and shook his head, "I'll tell you when we get to work. You don't need to worry about it right now." They said good bye and Kate closed the door as they vanished down the hall. She leaned her back against the closed door and looked up at Rick. He gave her a sort of sad smile and held out his arms, she gladly stepped into his embrace and held on tight. She let out a breath and felt light headed, she hadn't realized she had been holding it. She looked up at him and he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was conflicted.

"Hey. Hey, they we're going to know eventually. Kate, sweetheart. It's going to be okay." He tipped her chin up and forced her to look into his eyes. She had ignored the term of endearment this time, instead she gave him a sweet smile. She'd never admit it but she secretly loved when he used them, but she found she couldn't help but give him grief about them, causing him to use them only when he felt it necessary.

"I'm fine Rick, really, it's actually kind of nice that they know. We don't have to sneak around as much." He smiled back and replied, "Well, we still have to hide this from Gates sadly. I doubt she'd let up on her no 'romantic relations policy' for us, probably especially for us." She nodded, resting her head back on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat. "We'll have to make sure to remind Lanie and the boys that Gates can not know, at least not yet." He smiled nodded looking at her with pride a love.

"I wish we could be more open with us, ya know, at work." He added. She nodded and replied, "I know, me too. Sometimes it's just.. I need you." His eyebrows raised very high, almost amused. She smiled and shook her head, "No, not that. I mean well yes that sometimes but I- Sometimes I just need to hold your hand, or rest mine on your knee or your back, hell sometimes I just want to kiss you. It's hard because we can't."

He smiled dangerously, "Well, we aren't in the precinct yet.. So, do you still want to kiss me?"

He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, giving her plenty of time to pull away, she didn't -why would she knowing what his kiss would do to her. He kissed her lightly, with soft, gentle movements. She never told him as much, but she loved these kisses, the light, rapid brushing of lips. It was a comfort and she could feel herself coming back down to Earth. She smiled and opened her eyes.

"I love you, Rick. Thank you." She said looking into his eyes.

"I love you too, sweetheart. And for what?" He replied, eyes coloring in confusion.

"Being you. You've always been good at cheering me up."

He smiled before replying, "And now I have new weapons in my arsenal. Lips. Among other things." He waggled his eyebrows and squeezed her sides gently but she wiggled out of his arms and headed to the bedroom.

"We're already late _and_ on thin ice, we need to get to work." She called over her shoulder.

"No fun and no fair." He said following her into the bedroom.

They both changed into work appropriate clothes and left for work.

* * *

_A/N: Alright, so there's some smut. I dabble but I'm still pretty new at writing those parts. A little Caskett fluff is always good, am I right? Let me know what you think. New chapter soon, just putting some finishing touches and making it a little longer. Hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Mr Smith and Company

Kate sighed running a hand through her hair, she was frustrated and angry and she wanted to hit something. Her conversation with Ryan and Espo kept running through her head, as if on repeat.

_"Beckett." Kate turned away from Castle with a light smile on her face. Ryan's grim face instantly changed her mood._

_"What's up, Ryan?"_

_He took a breath, unsuccessfully trying to calm himself, to slow his heart rate, knowing that telling Kate the news he got this morning may send her further into the rabbit hole than ever before._

_"We got a body." Kate was confused, why was Ryan acting to dramatic over a case. Unless..._

_"Do we have an I.D.?" She asked wearily staring into his eyes hoping she wouldn't see the dreadful truth there. He nodded and motioned for her and Castle to follow him over to a conference room. He ushered them in and closed the door behind him._

_"Captain, Esposito... It's- What the hell is going on?" Her patients broke, she knew the truth but she had to hear someone say it. She had to hear that the case she ran from, the case she finally let go of had come back for her -with a vengeance it seemed. She was barely aware of Castle as he put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Kate was looking at her co-workers, searching for an answer._

_"A body washed up on the shore of the East River." Espo said looking directly into her eyes unflinching._

_"When?"_

_"A few weeks ago. We haven't been able to get an I.D. until this morning." Ryan continued._

_"How did he die?" Castle asked intently._

_"GSW to the head, point-blank range." Espo stated from memory._

_"Ballistics's?" Kate said, knowing what they would match to._

_"The bullet's a match, Maddox was the shooter." Ryan said confirming what she knew._

_"We're you guys keeping it from me?" Kate asked calmly looking around the room at everyone. She felt Castle's hand squeeze her shoulder and looked up at him with searching eyes uncertainty flashing through them._

_His eyes widened, "Kate, no. I would never. Not after everything we've been through together. After this last month." He turned to her, dropping the pretense of just writer and muse, of just friends, of just partners. Not caring that they had an audience, and that part of their audience was the very person they wanted to keep their relationship from. He look her small hands into his own._

_"Kate, I promised you that day I showed you my murder board that I wouldn't ever keep something serious from you. Especially not when it involves this case. We both thought it was over; after that first week, I didn't know it could get any better. Then you relaxed and you slept through the night with no nightmares, it made me so happy that you could be yourself with me and not have this case hang over you." He looked at her with such love, she smiled up at him with watery eyes. "We wanted it to be true, Kate, but now that it's back I promise to you again that I won't keep anything from you. No secrets." They just stood there, smiling at each other and fighting back tears. Kate couldn't figure out how she could be so lucky._

_He turned his head over to look at the three watching the spectacle a little shocked. "I guess the cat's out of the bag... again."_

_She rolled her eyes, taking her hands from his she wiped away the tears. She gripped one of his hands and gave it a squeeze, silently letting him know they'd continue it later. While he was comfortable with open affectionate relationships, she still wasn't -even when the relationship was with Richard Castle. She preferred her privacy and the intimacy of being alone with the man she loved._

_"Thank you, Castle." She said, a blush rising on her face as she bumped his shoulder turning back to their co-workers._

_Before anyone could speak, she continued, wanting to get as much information as possible. "Okay, so fill me in on what you guys have and we can compare notes. We have an I.D. on the body? Any leads on Maddox? And why the hell did it take so long to get the reports back from the lab?" She raised and eyebrow at them and crossed her arms over her chest._

_"We set up a murder board for this." Espo said, turning around and wheeling a familiar board away from the wall to where is could be observed. "We just got the I.D. this morning on John Doe, his name is William Parker. Nothing on Maddox yet. And it wasn't on rush so it kept getting pushed back."_

_"Who is he?" Castle asked, stepping up searching their board for clues._

_"He's the investment manager of a huge hedge fund. Guy rakes in a lot of dough." Espo said, watching their reactions. Castle's head snapped up and his eyes met Beckett's, their eyes giving away what they hadn't said._

_"Mr. Smith." Castle breathed, looking back at the photo of William Parker._

_The others gave him confused looks. Gates, who had been silent up until this point, was about to ask him what he was talking about when Kate walked up to him and asked, "Is it him, Rick? Is he.. dead?" She reached her hand out towards his and let it drop at the last moment, raking it through her hair._

_"I never met him, I mean there was one time in the parking garage, but-"_

_"He was only 'a shadow in a parking garage'. I remember." She finished his sentence and pondered what it meant that the man keeping her alive was dead._

_"Guys, who's Mr. Smith?" Ryan asked tentatively._

_Castle looked up and with a sigh he explained his arrangement with Mr. Smith. After he finished there was a heavy silence in the room._

_"So I guess he'll be coming after me again." Kate said quietly, not looking up from the ground. _

_"We don't know that." Castle said, almost angry. Kate stood up from her seat atop the conference table and turned to him._

_"What do you mean Rick? He's tried twice now, it's personal and he's not going to stop until he finishes this!" Kate said in a raised voice, nearly screaming at her partner._

_Rick walked over to her but didn't touch her, he looked at her fiercely before he spoke. "Don't do this, Kate. Please don't go down this road again, not by yourself. I'm here, remember? I'm right here." He pulled her into a hug, she resisted at first and then melted into it silently crying into his shirt._

_The others weren't used to seeing Beckett like this, raw and emotional. Javi had seen it some what, when he helped her with the PTSD, but even that wasn't like this. They could see, they could feel, that Castle and Beckett had this argument before -that they had been through this probably a thousand times over this past month._

_Rick continued to console her, ignoring the others in the room, "Sweetheart, listen. It's been a month since... don't you think he would have tried to..." He sighed in frustration, switching through ways to console her, trying to find the right one. She pulled back and looked him in the eye, and he knew what to say. "We don't know that he has the files, Smi-Parker's been dead for at least two weeks now and he hasn't come after you. He needs those files before he can touch you. If his boss isn't safe then he isn't safe." _

_"If he doesn't have the files then who does, Castle?" she asked, hoping more than anything he'd have an answer. "I can't live my life wondering when he's going to make his move."_

_"They might be in Parker's office or at his home, he has a lot of property so it may take a while to search it all. Maddox probably doesn't have the files yet so we need to move fast, get a warrant and find those files before he does." Ryan said, smiling at the couple who were still locked in an embrace. Kate backed away from Castle, squeezing his hand before she returned to her seat on the table_

_"What are we waiting for?" Kate smiled at her team and they bustled out to fill out the paperwork for a warrant._

* * *

She huffed out a sigh looking up at the murder board again, hoping to gleam some new truth out of it and ultimately coming up empty. They had searched most of Parker's real estate and had come up empty so far. They did however find the initial crime scene of Parker's murder in his office. Someone had scrubbed it down, washing away most of the evidence, but they missed a few places. CSU managed to pick up a finger print on the under side of the lamp shade, it was a match to Maddox. They figured he was lying in wait, ambushed Parker and demanded the files, when he wouldn't give them up Maddox shot him and threw his body in the East River hoping to buy some time to search Parker's property.

"I can hear your brain frying over there." Kate heard a familiar voice say from the doorway, she turned with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Alexis. What are you doing here?" Kate stood up and walked over to the girl giving her a hug which Alexis gladly returned.

"Came to surprise you and Dad, see if you wanted to get lunch." She answered, "But I'm guessing you guys are busy." She looked worried how the case was affecting her father's girlfriend.

Things had been pretty fragile between Kate and Alexis, especially in the beginning. Things were just starting to settle into a comfortable pattern and Kate didn't want this case to get in the middle of that too.

"New evidence came up." Kate said, Alexis caught the traces of sadness in her voice knowing immediately what case she was referring to. She had heard her father and Kate argue about it a lot in the beginning, then they talked about it, and after the first two weeks Alexis hadn't heard a word about it. Alexis' eyes never left Kate's.

"Did you find him?" She asked quietly, walking up to the murder board. She was familiar with the case, she had looked it over several times with them trying to help in any way she could.

"No. Maddox is still out there. Mr. Smith is dead though." Kate replied, stepping beside the girl.

Her head snapped over to look at Kate with wide eyes then back to the new picture on the board, she read the info they got on him and silently closed her eyes.

"We'll get him, Lex." Kate said, putting an arm around the girl. Alexis leaned into it, resting her head on Kate's shoulder.

"There're my girls." Castle said, breaking the silence that had settled in the room.

Kate and Alexis turned around, both smiling as Rick came into the room with a coffee in his hand.

Kate rose her eyebrow at him as he took a sip of it before hugging his daughter.

"Where's my coffee?" She asked him teasingly, Alexis looked back with a grin knowing her dad was in trouble if he didn't have a good excuse.

Rick smoothly held out his cup to her with a grin catching both of the ladies off guard.

"Here. I finished mine while you two were talking." She took the cup from him and took a sip and smiled loving his coffee-making abilities.

"Thanks."

He winked at her and sat on the edge of the table looking at the board with his girls. A comfortable silence settled in the room, Kate looked at the Castle's as they thought over the case evidence.

"You know what, lunch sounds great." Kate said with a smile.

* * *

Ryan and Espo were going over the paperwork for Parker's financials when they spotted Alexis walk off the elevators. She smiled at them and headed for their desks.

"Hey, have you seen my Dad or K-Detective Beckett?" She asked innocently.

They ignored her almost slip up and pointed to the conference room. She smiled and thanked them. Castle came out of the lounge just then with two coffee's in his hands but he paused and went over next to the boys to watched his daughter instead. They watched as she went into the room and hugged Beckett. They watched as the girl discussed something serious with the Detective. Then they watched as the girl went over to the board and the Detective came up beside her and wrapped her arm around her, holding her close. Castle finished his coffee and without a word walked into the conference room.

The boys watched still as Castle walked in and the two ladies turned to him with smiles. They watched still as Beckett teased Castle, who was hugging his daughter, before he held out the coffee he was sipping to her. She took it and after taking a sip she smiled at him. The boys were a little surprised, they_ had_ caught the two this morning but it was still a shock to see them act like a couple. They watched still as, after a few minutes, Beckett turned to her newly acquired family and say something. They watched as the little group left, Beckett calling over her shoulder saying they were going out to lunch. Ryan and Esposito nodded and once the doors of the elevator closed they exchanged a look.

"So how long have Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle been seeing each other romantically?" A voice, surprisingly warm, spoke from behind Espo.

They both looked up surprised.

"No sense in trying to keep it secret. As Mr. Castle said earlier, the cat's out of the bag. I'm just curious as to how long. I've always suspected something, and that comment I made, when they first came back, really freaked them out. So..?" Gates stood with a quizzical -almost affectionate expression, one they'd never seen on her before. Though it was quickly getting harder the longer they stayed quiet.

"Uh, actually, Sir, we only found about it this morning before work. But they said they've been together a while now. My guess is since, you know, everything went down a month ago." Ryan said and Espo nodded in agreement.

Gates allowed herself to smile slightly, "So, who won the bet?" She asked, her smile turning wry.

"Dr. Parish." "Lanie" Both detectives groaned in unison.

Gates chuckled as she walked back to her office.

* * *

They dropped Alexis off at the loft before heading back to the precinct. Their lunch had been nice, they agreed not to talk about the case and it felt amazing for them all to at least act like a normal family. Kate glanced over at Rick with a light smile on her lips, he rested his hand on her thigh giving it a light squeeze every so often. She loved these moments, when they could shut out the world and it was just them. Lunch had been a dream and it seemed it was going to last, like nothing had ever happened this morning, until reality came crashing into them at the precinct.

They walked off of the elevator and made a bee line for some coffee, bumping into Ryan and Espo.

"How was lunch?" Ryan asked with a grin.

"Great." Kate and Rick said simultaneously, causing the boys to grin even more.

Kate rolled her eyes and asked, "What have we got on Parker? Why hasn't anyone reported him missing? Have you talked to the people he worked with.. his family?"

She fired off the questions leaning against the counter sipping her coffee.

Espo held up one finger and ran to grabbed a file from his desk, "Uh, his receptionist, Jane Cabot, said it wasn't unusual for Parker to disappear for long periods of time. That he traveled a lot. He doesn't have any family left, he's not married and no kids. Guy was a bit of a recluse before he died." Espo said with a shrug.

Kate nodded, "Does he have any connection to Captain Montgomery?" Espo shook his head, "Not that we could find. We're still looking. We were able to look through his phone records while you guys were at lunch, nothing unusual. We couldn't find the phone calls Castle talked about, he must have used a burner."

"We get anything else on Parker?" Kate asked

They shook their heads, "No, sorry Beckett. The guy was pretty private, so there aren't many people to talk to." Espo said with a frustrated sigh.

"Well we know more today than we did yesterday." Kate said, taking another sip of her coffee.

All three men looked at her, giving her identical expressions of disbelief.

"Who are you and what have you done to my neurotic and half-crazed, pessimistic girlfriend?" Rick said, dramatically putting his hand on her forehead.

She swatted it away and replied, "Must be my immature and childish, optimistic boyfriend. He can be a real pain but he's actually pretty smart." She smiled up at him, her arms snaking around his waist pulling him close. "Must be rubbing off on me."

"Hmm, maybe I should meet this guy." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Might be able to learn a few things."

Her twinkling laugh filled the small room, "Oh no,_ both_ of your ego's in one room?" He squeezed her sides gently with a look of mock outrage on his face that dissolved into a smile.

Someone cleared their throat, bringing the couple back to Earth. The had forgotten where they were and that the boys were standing two feet away from them. The couple looked over at the boys who had identical looks of bemusement on their faces.

Before anyone could say anything, Beckett's phone went off, she stepped out of Castle's embrace.

"Beckett." As she listened her face grew more grim by the second. "We'll be right there. Let the officers on scene know we're coming and not to touch anything." She hung up and sighed closing her eyes before running her hand through her hair and looking up at her team.

"Whatta' we got, Beckett?" Ryan asked, trying for normal.

"A body. Warehouse district. Single GSW to the head."

* * *

"Maddox's been busy." Castle said as he watched Lanie load up the body on a stretcher to take it away.

"We don't know that he did this, Castle." She replied absently as she searched the alley where the body was found. She side-stepped the puddle of blood following the trajectory the bullet took.

"Oh, come on, Beckett. This is way too much of a coincidence. He was killed the same way as William Parker, aka_ Mr. Smith_. This can't-"

"Castle." She sighed looking up at him, "We can't say Maddox did this until the ballistics come back. We need evidence."

"So.. you do think he's behind this." He motioned to the Coroner truck sweeping his arm up including the area she was searching.

"Of course I do, but I need evidence. A lead. Something! I need to be able to put him behind bars when I get my hands on him." She looked away from Castle and began walking along the alley, using her flashlight to look behind a dumpster. _Bingo_. "And that's where this comes in."

She pulled out an evidence bag and put the mangled bullet inside using a pair of rubber gloves. She held it up for Castle to see with a smirk.

* * *

"We get a match on ballistics?" Kate asked as she walked in the precinct to her desk. She took off her jacket, and turned to the boys.

"Yeah, just as we thought. Apparently Maddox has a favorite gun, he just can't help but use." Espo said, turning to their murder board.

"Do we have an I.D. on John Doe?"

Ryan came walking in just then with a file, "Yeah. He's Phillip Davis. Worked as a broker for Parker's company." He handed the file to Beckett.

"That _can't_ be a coincidence." Castle stated, smiling smugly at Beckett.

"No, you're right. It isn't. In fact, he may have known where the files are." Kate said searching through Davis' file trying to find anything usable.

Castle looking over her shoulder said quietly so only she could hear, "I like it when you say I'm right." Kate rolled her eyes and pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth to keep from smiling. She elbowed him in the ribs and looked up at Esposito.

"Get a hold of Davis' phone records and check the GPS in his cell phone, I want to know where he's been since his boss went missing. Find out what ever you can about him, and see if he has any connection to this case, let me know what you find. Castle and I will go take a look around his apartment, do you have an address?" She grabbed her coat and turned back to the boys.

Ryan looked up and said, "I'll text it to you."

* * *

_A/N: Decided to hit the ground running with this one. Hope you guys liked it! I was on a bit of a hot streak these last few days with writing so I don't know when I'll update again but maybe the streak will continue. I guess we'll see..._


	5. Tears, Blood, & Take Out

_A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I updated I wasn't sure how to continue it. I haven't ever written a story that has a serious plot to it so I may get some things wrong and I apologize for that, I'm not the best at writing the case work but I'm doing my best. I hope you guys can overlook my mistakes and thanks for sticking with me. It's a little short but I haven't updated in a while so..._

* * *

She was biting her lower lip. Her brow was pursed. She didn't look mad - confused, maybe. Contemplative? Definitely. Castle watched her as she drove methodically down town to Davis' apartment building, watching her think and worry and-

"I'm fine, Castle." She said absently, still lost in thought, she glancing over at her partner.

He sighed audibly, "Kate."

His eyes hadn't left her face so he didn't miss the small almost imperceptible smile that flickered on her lips.

Minutes later she pulled up outside Davis' building and turned off the car.

"I'm fine, Rick." She said it a little softer and gave him an easy smile. "Let's just go solve a murder."

* * *

Rick watched as _his_ Kate turned into Detective Beckett, informing the building super that his tenant was dead and asking to look around the apartment. Rick hadn't been paying any attention to the words exchanged between the two, he was in awe - mesmerized even - by the woman standing in front of him. The woman who has been his muse for over 4 years, who inspired his best work and brought out such a deep love in his heart, and now he can proudly say this amazing woman - the Katherine Beckett - is his.

"The super said Davis keeps to himself as best as he can tell. But he pays his rent on time, he's quiet, and no complaints from his neighbors." She stated as they stepped off the elevator on to the fifth floor breaking him from his thoughts, knowing all to well that he hadn't been paying attention earlier.

"So he was quiet, paid his rent, and didn't cause trouble. Every land lords dream." Castle sums up.

She nodded absently looking for the correct door. Turning around she smiled in triumph, fishing out the key the super gave her she approached one of the many doors lining the hallway.

Castle leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest as he watches Kate fight with the stubborn lock, "Did the boys-"

"Excuse me." A voice calls from behind them.

The couple turns in perfect sync to find a petite young woman in her late twenties standing ten feet down the hall. Kate gave her a once over before speaking.

"Detective Beckett, NYPD. This is my partner, Mr. Castle. Can we help you, Ms...?" Kate said flashing her badge.

"Fisher. Jen Fisher. A-are you looking for Phil, Detective?" The girl asked tentatively, wringing her hands tightly.

Kate shared a quick look with Rick before focusing on the young girl.

"Do you know Mr. Davis?" Kate asked walking up the young girl, careful to use present tense, she took out a small black book intending to scribble down some notes.

The girl nodded, again tentatively. "Yeah I know Phil. He - he's my neighbor. I'm in 6E, he's in 7E." She said pointing out each door.

"When's the last time you saw Mr. Davis?" Castle questioned gently.

"Oh, it's been..." She huffed out a sigh and looked away from them as she thought. "A couple days, I think. I haven't actually seen him but I did hear him the other night."

"Was this last night? What exactly did you hear?" Kate asked.

The girl looked increasingly uncomfortable as the moments passed. She shuffled from one foot to the other, wringing her hands behind her back, as she answered, "Yeah. Um, it was loud.. like he was yelling or something."

"Was there anyone with him, could you hear any other voices?" Castle interjected quickly.

She shook her head, a sort of erratic jerky movement, "No, maybe he was on the phone. I don't know. Is-is he in trouble?" The girl looked close the tears, Kate and Rick shared a significant look, this girl was hiding something.

"Did you see anyone else coming around to his apartment lately?" Kate pressed. "Maybe last night, someone you've never seen before?"

The girl shook her head mutely, her eyes watery.

"Ms. Fisher, how close were you to Mr. Davis?" Castle asked slowly, not wanting to spook her.

The girls head snapped up, "_Were_? Oh, God! Did something happen to him? He's okay isn't he?" For a girl who seemed one wrong word away from breaking down she was still extremely perceptive. She certainly didn't miss his pass tense use of the word. Castle cursed himself silently and Beckett shot him a glare.

"We're sorry to inform you Ms. Fisher, Phillip Davis is dead." Kate said in a neutral tone, watching the girl to assess her reaction.

"Oh, God." She croaked out before closing her eyes, choking back the sobs trying to break through. "Wh.. what-" She couldn't form a coherent sentence, her body wracked with sobs. To Kate her reaction seemed sincere and she immediately felt bad for the girl.

"I'm sorry Ms. Fisher, but we can't disclose any information on an on-going investigation." Kate said carefully.

The girl nodded and was about to speak when Castle quickly interjected, "You two were more than just neighbors, weren't you?" He asked it as though her already knew the answer. Kate shot an elbow into his ribs, which he ignored.

He gave the girl a skeptical look as she shook her head to deny it. "No, no. I mean-" She blushed deep crimson, "I-he never noticed me, not like that. We - we were only friends." She looked extremely uncomfortable and was itching to go into her apartment.

Kate nodded, deeming her story acceptable. Though something told her there was more to it, but she decided to drop it considering the girl was teetering on the edge and they hadn't even checked out Davis' apartment yet.

"Alright, we'll be in touch, Ms. Fisher. And if you remember anything." Kate pulls out a card and hands it to the girl. "Don't hesitate to call." The girl nodded and went into her apartment quickly.

Kate looked over at her partner and they shared a look.

"Do you buy it?" He asked as they headed back to Davis' apartment.

"I'm not sure what to believe anymore, Castle."

* * *

Davis' apartment was... plain - no, not plain, vacant. Like no one lived there, like their hadn't been anyone there in quite a while.

"For a guy who makes so much money, it sure seems he wasn't reaping the rewards. Look at this place." Castle said, sweeping his arm around the room in distaste, causing Kate to smirk.

"I can't imagine he spent a lot of time here. What with work and what ever he was doing for Mr. Smith." Kate said as they entered the living room.

"Parker." He sighed, still having trouble wrapping his head around Mr. Smith - The Mr. Smith - having a name and face and... now he's dead.

"Yeah, Castle, Parker." She affirmed quietly, her thoughts running in tandem to his.

Rick watched as Kate knelt down to examine something on the rug, the only evidence someone had been there. He stepped closer and peered over her shoulder.

"What's that?" He asked. It was nothing really, a slight discoloration in the carpet, but against it's near undisturbed surroundings..

"Not sure. Let's keep looking. I'll call CSU after we clear the apartment." Kate straightened and continued around the dead man's apartment. Castle began looking around as well, looking for any indication that an actual person lived there but he couldn't find anything; no personal items, no pictures.. nothing.

Castle ventured into the bedroom and found a similarly vacant setup. Except...

"Beckett." Castle called. "Kate!"

She came hurriedly into the room, her gun drawn, worry plainly evident on her face and in her voice. "Rick, what's wrong?"

His heart contracted tightly as he realized that she was worried. It was a silly thought really, she had always worried about him, but he loved that she was so ready to protect him. She glanced up at him and in seeing the soft smile playing on his lips she glared at him, obviously wanting to know why he had called her in such a panic, effectively snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Uh.. the window..." He said unintelligibly, stepping out of her way so she could see what had jolted him and caused him to call for her.

The window was open, just slightly, as if someone had hastily left not quite able to shut it all the way. There was another mark in the carpet, similar to the one in the living room. What really had caught their attention was the blood, it was smeared on the window frame.

"I think it's time to call in CSU, Beckett."

* * *

Opening the door to her Crown Vic, Kate sighed heavily as she slid into the driver seat. Rick followed in suit, slouching down in the passenger side. CSU arrived roughly twenty minutes ago, and after pacing and hovering over the investigators they grudgingly left when one investigator had told them, none too kindly, "we aren't going to work any faster just because you're hovering over us".

"Jen Fisher." Castle said not moving as he spoke from the passenger seat.

Beckett looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, "What about her?"

"She was holding something back." Castle said again not elaborating, just stating, obviously lost in thought. Kate always wondered what it was like inside his hair-brained mind.

"I know." Kate said simply turning the key in the ignition.

He sighed and turned to his partner with a hopeful smile, "Lunch?"

She nodded returning his smile and without a word headed to their usual place.

Kate sat in the car as Rick went in to get the food. She needed time to think, she had to clear her head and think over everything they knew. It wasn't much. There were gaps here and connections there, but none of it made sense.

She sighed heavily and she ran her fingers through her hair just as Rick jumped back in the car with an ear to ear grin, food in hand. He noticed her mood and his face immediately molded into concern, setting the food between his feet he turned his body to face her waiting for her to talk to him. She looked at him with a small sad smile. She reached out almost against her will and grabbed his hand, twining her fingers with his easily. He gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Sweetheart?" Kate look back to his face and smiled, she loved it when he called her that. She's never told him, he just knew.

"Yeah?" She bit back her pet name for him, a name she had only ever called him during their most passionate moments. She wanted to say it but chickened out at the last moment every time. It was too soon.

"Talk to me." He gave her hand a squeeze, his eyes never leaving hers.

She recognized the all too familiar tug at her eyes, she took a deep breath to center herself.

_Get a grip, Kate. Geesh._ She wasn't even sure why her eyes had grown damp but she didn't like it.

It seemed like ever since her wall came down, ever since that night when she showed up at his apartment dripping wet, her emotions were harder to keep in check. She seemed to get teary eyed over everything and nothing lately.

All she could think was that when the wall had come down it left little resistance, unleashing everything that had gathered behind it - 14 years of pain and heart ache spilling out at the most in-opportune moments.

"Hey, hey. It's okay." He cooed, trying to soothe her. He brushed a traitorous tear off her cheek.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry." She sniffed, wiping at her cheeks.

"Don't apologize, Kate. Talk to me." She looked up at him and attempted a smile.

"It's all just a lot to process. William Parker is the mysterious Mr. Smith, the same guy who was supposed to be keeping me alive, and he's- now he's dead, Rick. And his colleague, Phillip Davis, is somehow involved in all of this, and killed because of it. So many people have died for this case. We have nothing viable for court. I feel like we aren't going to pull this off."

She looked out her window at all the innocent people going on about their lives, their _normal_ lives. She thought how nice it must be to be so oblivious to the dangers around them. She felt Rick squeeze her hand, drawing her attention back to him.

"Pull what off, Kate? We're doing what we do best. Hunting down criminals and exposing the truth. We can do this, together." He brought their joined hands up and kissed hers gently.

"Thanks Rick." She said it gruffly before pulling herself together.

"Let's go back to the precinct, have some delicious Chinese, regroup with the boys.." Rick said, smiling at his girlfriend.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She turned the car on and entered traffic. Rick settled his hand firmly on her thigh, a smile played on her lips all the way to the precinct.

* * *

_A/N: Feedback is welcome. I'm guessing from the lack of response these last few chapters that you guys aren't impressed and I'm sorry. There are plenty of better Caskett writers out there but I'm trying. So like I said, feedback is welcome... criticism, comments, suggestions, etc. Thank you._


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